architecturehttp://livingchurch.org/taxonomy/term/158/all
enCrystal Cathedral Revisitedhttp://livingchurch.org/crystal-cathedral-revisited
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>The Roman Catholic <a href="https://www.rcbo.org/">Diocese of Orange</a> has <a href="http://www.rcbo.org/news-and-events/diocesan-news/707-christcathedraldesignplanannounced.html">announced</a> its plans for transforming the Crystal Cathedral into its own <a href="http://www.christcathedralcalifornia.org/">Christ Cathedral</a>.</p>
<p>The diocese’s announcement drew coverage from the <a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-0925-crystal-cathedral-20140925-story.html">Los Angeles Times</a>, the <a href="http://www.religionnews.com/2014/09/25/look-inside-transformation-crystal-cathedral/">Orange County Register</a>, and <a href="http://www.religionnews.com/2014/09/25/look-inside-transformation-crystal-cathedral/">Religion News Service</a>, among others.</p>
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</tr></tbody></table><p>In its edition of February 12, 2012, TLC published Matthew Alderman’s essay on how the Crystal Cathedral might be recast a Roman Catholic place of worship. We are pleased to publish it again today, in honor of Alderman’s vision and in honor of what Christ Cathedral will become.</p>
<p><strong>From Meetinghouse to House of God<br />Reverse Engineering the Crystal Cathedral</strong></p>
<p>By Matthew Alderman</p>
<p>In a 1962 essay, “Architectural Seriousness,” Lance Wright outlined three marks of architectural modernity: “<em>the sense of the provisional</em>, <em>the sense of economy</em>, and the sense of the continuing nature of space.” A scholarly friend of mine once commented that in plain English this means today’s buildings are defined by “impermanence, cheapness, and emptiness.”</p>
<p>The recent decision by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange to purchase the Crystal Cathedral for an apparently reasonable $57.5 million suggests the criterion of “economy” can only be applied flexibly here, but the building remains haunted by an empty impermanence.</p>
<p>As Voltaire or <em>Saturday Night Live</em>’s Linda Richman might say, the iconic Crystal Cathedral is neither made of crystal nor presently a cathedral. Nor does it have much in the way of icons. There is a difference between a <em>meetinghouse</em>, an auditorium built for preaching, and a true <em>church</em>, with its sacramental character. The Crystal Cathedral stands solidly in this tradition: minimally ornamented, eschewing a processional layout in favor of a prominent, stagelike pulpit.</p>
<p>Yet, even if it is rooted in a tradition, it is nonetheless a modernistic structure. It rejects stylistic organic continuity with the past save for superficial touches such as a pseudo-Gothic belfry. Its glass envelope exemplifies Wright’s “sense of the continuing nature of space” inside and out. The sole ornament of the interior is exterior light; the exterior decorative scheme is reflected grass and sky. This is perfect for a pantheist, but for a sacramental Christian it is troubling.</p>
<p>It is as if modern architecture itself is skeptical of its ability to communicate a coherent message. Compare this with the original “crystal cathedrals” of Chartres and Rheims, bristling with stone saints, and where stained glass broke white light into a rainbow of biblical stories, martyrdoms, and allegories.</p>
<p>But the die has been cast, and the diocese plans to rehabilitate the interior “so it will be suitable for a Catholic place of worship.” Can this be achieved, and how?</p>
<p>While I am a booster for new traditional architecture, I often caution prospective renovators that they will not be able to turn their suburban St. AstroTurf’s into Westminster Abbey unless they are prepared to use a bulldozer. While traditional styles can often be mixed within historic interiors, the modernistic movement was such a destructive act of self-exile that great care must be used when adding traditional elements to a dated modernistic interior. Plopping down a Gothic altarpiece into a 1968 vintage ecclesiastical wigwam usually just makes the wigwam look worse.</p>
<p>Instead, renovators must coax out whatever small bit of potential might be present in embryonic form in an existing modernistic church. Hybrid or transitional styles which straddle the line between architectural modernism and traditional culture are useful here, as they allow a degree of iconographic reverse engineering.</p>
<p>My sketches for this article are inspired by late art deco examples such as the 1959 Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore, Maryland, and Sir Basils pence’s explicitly modernistic 1962 Coventry Cathedral, a landmark of midcentury modern design. Coventry is a particularly useful example, as it contains a fairly extensive iconographic program. These models can only be taken so far: the Crystal Cathedral is so far from conventional norms as to effectively have no walls or even any true interior space.</p>
<p>Liturgically, the building must be transformed from an auditorium into a church. The structure is laid out on a cruciform plan, but its principal axis lies within the short “transept” arms. The interior should be reoriented to follow the long axis to give a sense of procession. Sufficient space should be found for the sanctuary to avoid the broad, shallow appearance of a stage. The theatre-like upper balconies should be played down visually. The old choir platform and pulpit area in one transept should be screened off to form a raised choir area; below, there would be space for a daily Mass chapel, shrines, and a baptistery — the little devotional nooks and crannies that usually give so much life to a cathedral, and which have no place in a meetinghouse.</p>
<p>This action will also serve to create an explicitly defined nave, which in turn will lead the eye more easily toward the chancel. A large, straightforward retablo will do much to terminate the processional axis; thes pace behind could be converted into an adoration chapel or sacristy space. A baldachin in a spare modern style might also be suitable. The altar should be prominent, raised, and of a noble material. Other liturgical fittings such as clergy stalls and the bishop’s cathedra should be designed to create a high implied sill below the church’s glass walls, transforming the interior from a glass envelope to a discrete space. Further definition can be achieved by a “ceiling” of colorful translucent hangings to mediate between the exterior glass and the interior.</p>
<p>The diocese has said it does not plan to alter the exterior. Admitted, there is even less potential here for modification than within but some slight additions are necessary to give it a measure of symbolic identity. The accompanying illustration suggests adding a solid base running around the structure, allowing for the addition of sacristies and other support volumes, and a limited amount of statuary. A prominent cross and spire would top the carillon tower.</p>
<p>This is the bare minimum of work necessary to create a liturgical environment here. A stronger result might have been achieved had a new cathedral been built from the ground up in an authentic traditional style. It is nonetheless my hope that these suggestions illustrate how an organic liturgical ethos can be incorporated into any forthcoming renovation of the Crystal Cathedral.</p>
<p><em>Matthew Alderman is a project architect at <a href="http://cramandferguson.com">Cram and Ferguson Architects</a> of Concord, Massachusetts. His work as an artist, designer, and illustrator appears at <a href="http://matthewalderman.com">matthewalderman.com</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>Topmost image and video distributed by the Diocese of Orange.</em></p>
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<p><a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/79609379/Crystal-Cathedral" style="margin: 12px auto 6px auto; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; display: block; text-decoration: underline;" title="View Crystal Cathedral on Scribd">Crystal Cathedral</a></p>
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</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/architecture" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">architecture</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/roman-catholic" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Roman Catholic</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/crystal-cathedral" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Crystal Cathedral</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/christ-cathedral" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Christ Cathedral</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-categories-top field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Categories:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/lead-story" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Lead Story</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/essays-reviews" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Essays &amp; Reviews</a></div></div></div>Fri, 26 Sep 2014 17:48:08 +0000Web Editor1671 at http://livingchurch.orgSaving Epiphany Churchhttp://livingchurch.org/saving-epiphany-church
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Carolina A. Miranda writes for the <em>Los Angeles Times</em>:</p>
<p style="margin-left: 40px;">Since 1886, the landmark <a href="http://epiphany.ladiocese.org/">Church of the Epiphany</a> has stood at the corner of Sichel and Altura streets. It has been through religious services and weddings, community meetings and events, and a period of great transformation in the middle of the 20th century, when Lincoln Heights evolved from white professional enclave into an important Mexican immigrant community.</p>
<p style="margin-left: 40px;">… Emi Fontana, the director of the arts nonprofit <a href="http://www.westofrome.org/">West of Rome</a>, and Rita Gonzalez, a contemporary art curator at the <a href="http://www.lacma.org/">Los Angeles County Museum of Art</a> (LACMA), have gathered works by roughly three dozen high-profile artists for a benefit auction on Aug. 23 that will raise funds for restoration expenses.</p>
<p style="margin-left: 40px;">“It’s a glorious place,” says Gonzalez, who, like Fontana, is donating her time to the effort. “The first time I saw the church I was like, ‘I can’t believe I’ve never been in here before!’ It’s a hidden architectural gem, plus it has the whole history of the Chicano movement. This is a really important place.”</p>
<p><a href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/miranda/la-et-cam-preserve-19th-century-epiphany-church-chicano-movement-20140803-column.html#page=1">Read the rest</a>.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/webclips" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">webclips</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/architecture" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">architecture</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/beauty" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">beauty</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/civil-rights-movement" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">civil rights movement</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-categories-top field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Categories:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/lead-story" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Lead Story</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/news" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News</a></div></div></div>Tue, 05 Aug 2014 22:54:46 +0000Web Editor1555 at http://livingchurch.orgShigeru Ban Wins Pritzkerhttp://livingchurch.org/shigeru-ban-wins-pritzker
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><em>Stuff</em> (New Zealand) reports:</p>
<p style="margin-left: 40px;">One of architecture’s most prestigious international awards has been given to the man behind Christchurch’s cardboard cathedral.</p>
<p style="margin-left: 40px;">Shigeru Ban was today named the winner of the 2014 Pritzker Architecture Prize.</p>
<p style="margin-left: 40px;">The 56-year-old Tokyo-born architect is known for his elegant, innovative and resourceful approach to design, as well as his humanitarian efforts.</p>
<p style="margin-left: 40px;"><a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/9865626/Cardboard-cathedral-designer-wins-top-prize">Read the rest</a>.</p>
<p>Biretta tip: <a href="http://www.anglicannews.org/news/2014/03/cardboard-cathedral-designer-wins-top-prize.aspx">Anglican Communion News Service</a></p>
<p><em>Image of Shigeru Ban by MOSSOT, via <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Centre_Pompidou-Metz_-_Pose_de_la_premi%C3%A8re_pierre_-2.jpg#file">Wikimedia</a>. Cathedral image by Jocelyn Kinghorn, via <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cardboard,_wood_and_glass.jpg#file">Wikimedia</a>.</em></p>
<p><em><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/Cardboard%2C_wood_and_glass.jpg" style="width: 599px; height: 401px;" /></em></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/pritzker-prize" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Pritzker Prize</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/architecture" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">architecture</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/cardboard" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">cardboard</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/christchurch-cathedral" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Christchurch Cathedral</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-categories-top field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Categories:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/lead-story" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Lead Story</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/news" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News</a></div></div></div>Tue, 25 Mar 2014 17:55:33 +0000Douglas LeBlanc1287 at http://livingchurch.orgElegance in Cape Codhttp://livingchurch.org/elegance-cape-cod
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><span style="line-height: 1.538em;">Review by David A. Kalvelage</span></p>
<p>This is a stunning book with more than 200 impressive photographs printed on high-quality paper. It tells the story of the <a href="http://www.communityofjesus.org/church-of-the-transfiguration/">Church of the Transfiguration</a> in Orleans, Massachusetts, the place of worship for the <a href="http://www.communityofjesus.org/">Community of Jesus</a>, an ecumenical monastic community founded by two Episcopalians more than 60 years ago.</p>
<table align="right" border="2" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" style="width: 250px;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://www.paracletepress.com/church-of-the-transfiguration-book.html" style="font-size: 13px;">The Church of the Transfiguration</a><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-size: 13px;">Edited by Donna Kehoe</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-size: 13px;">Paraclete. </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">Pp. 244. $69.96</span></td>
</tr></tbody></table><p>This coffee-table-sized book is intended to be about the beautiful Cape Cod church where the community gathers for worship several times each day. The Romanesque edifice contains breathtaking artwork and offers a peaceful atmosphere for worship. But the story of the community is as impressive as the photographs of the building.</p>
<p>Cay Andersen and Judy Sorensen are credited as the founders. The two met at the <a href="http://deaneryweb.org/orleans/">Church of the Holy Spirit</a>, Orleans, in 1958, and frequently afterward. Those meetings led to the formation of a small group of women who gathered weekly for prayer and Bible study. They professed their vows in 1968 and formed the Sisterhood of the Community of Jesus.</p>
<p>Through the years there were additional members, a chapel and other buildings, and eventually men became part of the community. Following 20 years of worship in a renovated pump house, the community spent several years planning, praying, working in groups, and enduring delays for the construction of the church. Groundbreaking finally took place on All Saints’ Day 1997, and the church was dedicated on the feast of Pentecost, June 17, 2000.</p>
<p>The church and other community buildings are situated on the south side of Rock Harbor, an inlet at Cape Cod Bay. The stone church is built in the style of a fourth-century basilica, meaning “hall of the king.” The book explains: “Hearkening back to one of the earliest forms of church architecture, the Church of the Transfiguration gave a 21st-century expression to this ancient design from which all Christians can trace their heritage.”</p>
<p>There is a tower that contains a set of 10 change-ringing bells, a columned atrium at the entrance to the church, and a lintel that tells the story of creation. These and other richly symbolic appointments — a fountain, lovely glass windows, a variety of stone figures, and mosaics on the floor and at the east end of the building — are beautifully illustrated in the book. On the walls, the story of salvation is told in fresco and stone.</p>
<p>Twelve murals on the clerestory walls illustrate the life of Jesus. The colorful artwork is marked by startlingly human faces, particularly a “procession” of saints along the north and south walls. At the east end is a massive mosaic of Christ returning to reign in glory at the end of time, overlooking a modest, free-standing stone altar.</p>
<p>The further one ventures into the book, the more one wants to see the community at worship. Photos show the community gathered for the Eucharist, processing into the church on Palm Sunday, celebrating the Easter Vigil, and at other times.</p>
<p>The book concludes with three short first-person essays about life in the community, and an appendix offers statements by the various artists whose work is displayed in the building.</p>
<p>There are currently 230 professed adult members in the community and an additional 160 oblates. Sixty sisters live in Bethany Convent and 25 brothers are housed in Zion Friary. Members have included Episcopalians, Lutherans, Pentecostals, Presbyterians, Roman Catholics, and others. They are involved in a daily life of prayer according to the Benedictine tradition that includes Lauds, Midday Prayer, Vespers, Compline, and the Eucharist.</p>
<p>Despite the vast detail presented in the book, I wound up looking for more. Are visitors welcomed? When are the services? What of the children pictured? How are they involved in the life of the community?</p>
<p>This is an impressive presentation of a religious community and its center of worship. Its story deserves to be more widely known.</p>
<p><em>David A. Kalvelage, retired editor of TLC, serves on the Living Church Foundation.</em></p>
<p style=" margin: 12px auto 6px auto; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; display: block;"><a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/179872443/Church-Transfiguration-Orleans" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View Church Transfiguration Orleans on Scribd">Church Transfiguration Orleans</a></p>
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</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/basilica" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">basilica</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/architecture" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">architecture</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/beauty" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">beauty</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/church-transfiguration" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Church of the Transfiguration</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-categories-top field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Categories:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/lead-story" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Lead Story</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/essays-reviews" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Essays &amp; Reviews</a></div></div></div>Tue, 29 Oct 2013 12:18:20 +0000Web Editor1151 at http://livingchurch.orgGrace in Built Formhttp://livingchurch.org/grace-built-form
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>An interview with Duo Dickinson, Architect<br />By Richard J. Mammana, Jr.</p>
<p>Incarnation Center in Ivoryton, Connecticut, grew out of a late 19th-century “fresh air” ministry of the Church of the Incarnation, Manhattan. From its beginnings in the summer of 1886 in a rented farmhouse on Mohegan Lake, New York, it served the children of recent immigrants, affording them an opportunity to experience rural American life. Incarnation moved to Ivoryton in 1929 and its ministry has now flourished through three centuries. Today, Incarnation Center offers conference facilities all year long, a traditional summer camp supported by the Diocese of New York and parishes in the Diocese of Connecticut, Elderhostel activities, and a wide range of year-round nature programs on a wooded property close to the Connecticut River and Long Island Sound.</p>
<p>The most recent chapter in the life of Incarnation Center began with the consecration on June 9 of a new chapel, designed in its architect’s words to be “large enough to create a place for everyone at camp and visiting groups to assemble, sing, and perform in a variety of expressions.” It seats up to 320 children or 240 adults, and embraces an impressive 2,300 square feet on the shore of Lake Mohegan.</p>
<p>The construction phase, from groundbreaking to consecration, took just three months in early 2012, allowing for use of the chapel throughout this year’s peak camping season. All engineering and design services were donated.</p>
<p>I spoke recently with award-winning architect Duo Dickinson — a camper at Incarnation in 1964 and 1965 — about his work on this project. Dickinson, properties chair at Trinity Church on the Green in New Haven, began his own architectural practice in 1987. <em>The New York Times</em> has described his building and design philosophy in succinct terms: “Design it small, make it as beautiful as possible and practice every trick in the book to keep it as cheap as possible.” Dickinson is a regular newspaper columnist, lecturer, and <a href="http://savedbydesign.wordpress.com">blogger on architectural matters</a>. His most recent book is <em>Staying Put: Remodel Your House To Get the Home You Want</em> (Taunton Press, 2011).</p>
<p><strong>How does your new design relate to the previous chapel?</strong><br />The new chapel replaces a structure built well over 50 years ago and refurbished 20 years ago. Rather than ignoring the legacy of the original chapel, the design incorporates the original sign and cross, but most significantly, the exact shape of the original chapel is replicated as the central crowning roof form. The earlier chapel measured 600 square feet, so the new chapel is almost four times the size. The altar area/deck is an additional 450 square feet.</p>
<p><strong>You have mentioned that you drew inspiration for the new chapel from barn design.</strong><br />The trusses are field-ganged rot-proof stock dimensional lumber yellow pine, and thus have the raw and rough-hewn sensibility of a barn. The angled shrouds that protect the interior steel columns from the weather are wrought of the same material. Just like a barn, there will be some warping, checking and rough edges. But also like a barn the new chapel is comfortable in its own skin, and engineered to weather well over the long term.</p>
<p><strong>What made the chapel design and construction process different from your work for non-religious clients?</strong><br />I have designed about 500 homes for private clients over the last 30 years, but from the start at least 20 percent of the work of our firm has been dedicated to <em>pro bono </em>or at-cost work for not-for-profits, so the budget constraints presented by this project were familiar. With a tight budget of $180,000, our single goal was to accommodate the entire sleep-away camp population under one roof for worship at the same time. Paul Torcellini of Waverly Construction, Scott Erricson of E2 engineers, and my office spent the better part of a year in permitting, budgeting, and planning to make this process come together in the nick of time within the specified budget. For me, the result was a vibrant and expressive wood-wrought celebration of the site, the camp, and of the Holy Spirit.</p>
<p><strong>What about other factors in design that would set a chapel for campers apart from other building projects?</strong><br />My personal history of learning to canoe and camp here almost 50 years ago, and having designed about a dozen other projects at Incarnation over the last 25 years, as well as sitting on its board, created a host of intermingling imperatives. It was very important to me to have specifications for this project that required “zero maintenance” for the staff of the center going forward. This means the structure will resist the ravages of weather, rust, graffiti, and regular wear from use. But I also wanted to convey in built form the deep sense of grace I feel every day of my life. That sense informs everything I design, but overtly so here.</p>
<p><strong>How was this project important to you as a Christian and as someone whose spiritual life was formed in the camp chapel?</strong><br />All of our <em>pro bono</em> work serves as an acknowledgment that everything we have has been given to us. If what I have to offer leverages a greater good then my indebtedness creates abundance. The abundance provided by a dedicated camp staff, a generous group of donors of treasure and talent, and, most importantly, the grace of God that passes all understanding created the miracle by the lake that is the new Chapel of the Incarnation.</p>
<p><strong>What kind of longevity do you envision for the new chapel?</strong><br />We sought to design this as a zero maintenance facility: every surface can be sanded back to its base condition, and every piece of metal is stainless. Scott Erricson’s structural design resists hurricane-force winds and heavy snows. Although “light” in countenance, this building aims to be around for the long haul.</p>
<p><strong>Have you heard anything from campers or other worshipers in this first season of the chapel’s use? What do they think of it?</strong><br />I have witnessed it. We need to add 10 more pews (all under the roof line) because they adore the space. The first wedding is in September of two camp alums. One more reason for belief in a higher power is that the acoustics, completely undesigned, are remarkable. Beyond the new pews, permanent lighting will be provided once funds are secured, and we hope to build a “sacristy shed” as well.</p>
<p><em>Richard J. Mammana, Jr., a recent graduate of Yale Divinity School, is founder and director of <a href="http://anglicanhistory.org/">Project Canterbury</a>.</em></p>
<p><a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/105141465/Grace-in-Built-Form" style="margin: 12px auto 6px auto; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; display: block; text-decoration: underline;" title="View Grace in Built Form on Scribd">Grace in Built Form</a></p>
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</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/architecture" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">architecture</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/incarnation-center" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Incarnation Center</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/ivoryton-connecticut" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Ivoryton Connecticut</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-categories-top field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Categories:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/lead-story" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Lead Story</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/news" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News</a></div></div></div>Thu, 06 Sep 2012 20:03:17 +0000Douglas LeBlanc452 at http://livingchurch.orgFrom Meetinghouse to House of Godhttp://livingchurch.org/meetinghouse-house-god
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>By Matthew Alderman</p>
<p>In a 1962 essay, “Architectural Seriousness,” Lance Wright outlined three marks of architectural modernity: “<em>the sense of the provisional</em>, <em>the sense of economy</em>, and the sense of the continuing nature of space.” A scholarly friend of mine once commented that in plain English this means today’s buildings are defined by “impermanence, cheapness, and emptiness.”</p>
<p>The recent decision by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange to purchase the Crystal Cathedral for an apparently reasonable $57.5 million suggests the criterion of “economy” can only be applied flexibly here, but the building remains haunted by an empty impermanence.</p>
<p>As Voltaire or <em>Saturday Night Live</em>’s Linda Richman might say, the iconic Crystal Cathedral is neither made of crystal nor presently a cathedral. Nor does it have much in the way of icons. There is a difference between a <em>meetinghouse</em>, an auditorium built for preaching, and a true <em>church</em>, with its sacramental character. The Crystal Cathedral stands solidly in this tradition: minimally ornamented, eschewing a processional layout in favor of a prominent, stagelike pulpit.</p>
<p>Yet, even if it is rooted in a tradition, it is nonetheless a modernistic structure. It rejects stylistic organic continuity with the past save for superficial touches such as a pseudo-Gothic belfry. Its glass envelope exemplifies Wright’s “sense of the continuing nature of space” inside and out. The sole ornament of the interior is exterior light; the exterior decorative scheme is reflected grass and sky. This is perfect for a pantheist, but for a sacramental Christian it is troubling.</p>
<p>It is as if modern architecture itself is skeptical of its ability to communicate a coherent message. Compare this with the original “crystal cathedrals” of Chartres and Rheims, bristling with stone saints, and where stained glass broke white light into a rainbow of biblical stories, martyrdoms, and allegories.</p>
<p>But the die has been cast, and the diocese plans to rehabilitate the interior “so it will be suitable for a Catholic place of worship.” Can this be achieved, and how?</p>
<p>While I am a booster for new traditional architecture, I often caution prospective renovators that they will not be able to turn their suburban St. AstroTurf’s into Westminster Abbey unless they are prepared to use a bulldozer. While traditional styles can often be mixed within historic interiors, the modernistic movement was such a destructive act of self-exile that great care must be used when adding traditional elements to a dated modernistic interior. Plopping down a Gothic altarpiece into a 1968 vintage ecclesiastical wigwam usually just makes the wigwam look worse.</p>
<p>Instead, renovators must coax out whatever small bit of potential might be present in embryonic form in an existing modernistic church. Hybrid or transitional styles which straddle the line between architectural modernism and traditional culture are useful here, as they allow a degree of iconographic reverse engineering.</p>
<p>My sketches for this article are inspired by late art deco examples such as the 1959 Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore, Maryland, and Sir Basils pence’s explicitly modernistic 1962 Coventry Cathedral, a landmark of midcentury modern design. Coventry is a particularly useful example, as it contains a fairly extensive iconographic program. These models can only be taken so far: the Crystal Cathedral is so far from conventional norms as to effectively have no walls or even any true interior space.</p>
<p>Liturgically, the building must be transformed from an auditorium into a church. The structure is laid out on a cruciform plan, but its principal axis lies within the short “transept” arms. The interior should be reoriented to follow the long axis to give a sense of procession. Sufficient space should be found for the sanctuary to avoid the broad, shallow appearance of a stage. The theatre-like upper balconies should be played down visually. The old choir platform and pulpit area in one transept should be screened off to form a raised choir area; below, there would be space for a daily Mass chapel, shrines, and a baptistery — the little devotional nooks and crannies that usually give so much life to a cathedral, and which have no place in a meetinghouse.</p>
<p>This action will also serve to create an explicitly defined nave, which in turn will lead the eye more easily toward the chancel. A large, straightforward retablo will do much to terminate the processional axis; thes pace behind could be converted into an adoration chapel or sacristy space. A baldachin in a spare modern style might also be suitable. The altar should be prominent, raised, and of a noble material. Other liturgical fittings such as clergy stalls and the bishop’s cathedra should be designed to create a high implied sill below the church’s glass walls, transforming the interior from a glass envelope to a discrete space. Further definition can be achieved by a “ceiling” of colorful translucent hangings to mediate between the exterior glass and the interior.</p>
<p>The diocese has said it does not plan to alter the exterior. Admitted, there is even less potential here for modification than within but some slight additions are necessary to give it a measure of symbolic identity. The accompanying illustration suggests adding a solid base running around the structure, allowing for the addition of sacristies and other support volumes, and a limited amount of statuary. A prominent cross and spire would top the carillon tower.</p>
<p>This is the bare minimum of work necessary to create a liturgical environment here. A stronger result might have been achieved had a new cathedral been built from the ground up in an authentic traditional style. It is nonetheless my hope that these suggestions illustrate how an organic liturgical ethos can be incorporated into any forthcoming renovation of the Crystal Cathedral.</p>
<p>Matthew Alderman is the founder of <a href="matthewalderman.com">Matthew Alderman Studios</a>, specializing in church furnishing design, design consulting, and professional illustration. He frequently writes and lectures on ecclesiastical art and architecture.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/79609379/Crystal-Cathedral" style="margin: 12px auto 6px auto; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; display: block; text-decoration: underline;" title="View Crystal Cathedral on Scribd">Crystal Cathedral</a></p>
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</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/architecture" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">architecture</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/roman-catholic" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Roman Catholic</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/crystal-cathedral" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Crystal Cathedral</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-categories-top field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Categories:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/lead-story" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Lead Story</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/news" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News</a></div></div></div>Fri, 27 Jan 2012 06:00:00 +0000Douglas LeBlanc176 at http://livingchurch.org